Lluvia lay in the continent known as Principale. The weather was mostly cloudy, barely letting the sun greet the people who lived there in that town. It constantly rained, which explained the cloudy weather. When Alice and the Cheshire Cats arrived it was pouring and had been an hour before. Luckily, Truth and Liar were kind enough to tell her to pack an umbrella. They hadn't told her why but now she understood. Lluvia was the town of rain.

Princess had never been on a mission with the Cheshire Cats, or with anyone, for that matter. So it wasn't a real surprise that they had to go incognito. What did surprise her, however, was that Liar and Truth chose not to. "You two are going to get caught by the police or worse if you don't wear some kind of disguise," Princess warned, putting on a light blue beanie to hide her hair in. "This is my first mission with you two and I don't want to mess it up." She wore a navy blue jacket with gray jeans, her hair well hidden in the beanie.

Truth and Liar smiled at her, dressed in their usual outfits of stripped, long-sleeved sweater-like shirts that matched the stripes in their hair with the accompanying black stripes. Their shoes were the same color and their pants black. Much like Hide and Seek they, too, wore headbands around their heads. Theirs were striped as their shirts. They matched quite well and the colors made it simple to tell who was Truth and who was Liar, along with how their hair was styled and the colored stripes on them. Truth's hair was combed left with blue stripes while Liar's was combed right with red stripes.

"This may be your first missions," said Liar, "but it isn't ours. Quite sure we'll be safe."

"Safe?" She highly doubted that. "How could it possibly be safe for people like us? Underground Wonderland…ians."

"It's because we're 'Underground Wonderlandians,' as you put it, that we're safe," said Truth. "If we're caught then Liar will simply tell them that it's a lie while I make the lie true."

"It is our specialty, after all," added Liar.

She let out a sigh, zipping up her jacket. "Just…Try to keep a low profile. I told the Madame I'd keep you out of as much trouble as I could and I don't want her thinking I'm a liar. No offense Liar. ('None taken,' he replied quickly.) So please, I beg you both, don't do anything stupid." They each raised a hand up, promising to act their best. She was going to hold them to that promise.

Leaving the rather fancy motel they were staying at, Princess opened up her umbrella once outside. She could hear the rain pattering against the clear exterior as she walked down the street. Truth and Liar weren't far behind her with black umbrellas open to shield themselves from the water and pedestrian stares. Catching but a glimpse of the weather on the television the rain was not going to cease anytime soon. They'd be lucky if it stopped at all that day.

"Where are we going?" Princess asked, looking left and right down alleyways, streets, and into shop windows. She may have been leading but she had no clue to where she was leading them. Several times they warned her of puddles, telling her to go around. They didn't give a response to her question. At least not in words. They simply maneuvered her by the shoulders down several streets before coming to a large building. "And this is?"

"The library," they answered. Their answer repeated in her head as she stared up and down at the large gray building. Its structure looked worn from the outside. As if it had stood there for well over a century handling the rain on its own day after day. Princess wouldn't have been surprised if that were true or if a piece of the structure suddenly broke off from the side of the roof.

"It's probably warmer inside," she heard Truth say.

"Hopefully it isn't leaking." That was Liar's remark. They gently nudged her shoulders, leading her inside.

Inside was much warmer. There weren't any leaking ceilings, to their relief. Rows and rows of bookcases were filled, creating aisles upon aisles. People could be seen sitting down at the chairs, tables, and desks provided with an open book in their hands or a computer in front of them as they typed away. Few had stacks of books beside them. The librarians sat at their desks, checking-in and checking-out books. Some were going up and down the aisles, placing the books back where they belonged. Others who were going up and down the aisles were helping those who followed find books.

Princess looked up at Truth and Liar, watching them scan the area before them, as if making sure no one was watching them from behind one of the many bookcases. Calmly they walked towards the staircase without a word being said, umbrella in one hand while the other stayed hidden in the long sleeve. She followed behind them, wondering where they were headed. Wondering what was on the second floor and why they had come to the library in the first place.

The stairs they had taken took them to a rather large room with aisles of books on bookcases, maps on the wall, and wide windows stacked against the wall near a round table. Books were stacked on top of the table, few spread out open, and a seat was pulled out to let them know someone was there. But the room was silent. The only sound heard was that of the rain hitting against the glass windows by the table. The light was much dimmer than that of the first floor. As if only the light from outside illuminated it.

The atmosphere in the room was heavy and it frightened Princess. She stayed close to Truth and Liar, looking to make sure no one was behind them. "Hiding, you think?" asked Truth, his voice low and casual. It caught her attention as she stared up once more at the two.

Liar chuckled. "Blending among the books, it would seem." He took a few steps forward, stopping at the first aisle of bookcases to peer down before proceeding to the next one.

"Princess, please take a seat at the table and feel free to read a book while you wait," said Truth as he, too, began to peer down the aisles as Liar. She didn't hesitate to obey orders, pulling out a seat at the table and sitting down with the umbrella resting in her lap. She could no longer see the Cheshire Cats as they disappeared behind the many books.

The books on the table seemed old and wrinkled. The pages of the open books were speckled and almost yellow. She pulled one of them towards her but couldn't make out what the words printed. She only recognized one word. "Neverland," she whispered, speaking no louder in fear of being heard by whoever they were looking for. She remembered reading a book back at the castle about the island known as Neverland that was destroyed and sunk due to a hurricane. There weren't any survivors and the island itself just disappeared without a trace under the deep waters. It wasn't long until treasure hunters and excavators made Neverland a legend and fairytale like Atlantis. Even Wonderland was turned into a fairytale.

"With fairy's dust you must believe, to sore the sky from dusk to dawn." That was her favorite quote from one of the books she had read. She pushed the book to where it was before taking a gander out the window.

People walked down the streets with open umbrellas as cars and trucks passed by. People entered shops across the street here and there, greeting people with smiles and a wave of the hand. Looking left she could see three people chatting amongst themselves under two large umbrellas. Their clothes didn't seem to match with the scenery, making them stick out as much as Liar and Truth had. She guessed they were tourist of some sort. They each held out only what she could make out to be four little trinkets before they were put away. Curiously, she leaned closer to the window before staring back around at the sound of many books falling onto the floor.

Truth and Liar emerged from the bookcases at last. Relief swept over Princess a moment before she caught glimpse of them dragging someone by the arms. It was a woman dressed in a thin gray sweater and pale yellow dress that reached past her knees. Her black boots were a bit torn and worn out from constant use. When she was forcefully sat down on the already pulled out chair Princess could see how scared for her life she was behind the thick glasses over her eyes. Golden-brown strands of hair came undone from the bun on the back of her head. She stared from the two men to Princess, ceasing to struggle instantly.

"Are you…Alice of Underground Wonderland?" she asked in disbelief. Princess didn't know whether to answer that, seeking an answer from one of her protectors. She didn't attain one from them and thus nodded to the woman. A breath escaped her lips as she sat there, bluish green eyes staring into Princess' light brown eyes. "You poor girl." That's all she said before Liar and Truth slammed their hands onto the table quite loudly, gaining her attention once more and causing Princess to jump a bit in her seat.

"You're quite the slippery woman to catch, did you know that?" Truth asked, leaning against the table with his arms crossed now, eyes in her direction. The woman gave no answer.

"You were quite fortunate to have passed us by and by without so much as a sound, Milady Archer," said Liar, leaning against the chair she was in, his head close to hers from behind. She almost shivered at him speaking her name so nonchalant. Princess was admittedly confused, not knowing at all who she was, even if she did know who she was.

"I was indeed quite fortunate," she said at last, "but it appears as though my fortunate has run out. I blame only myself for not haven left here only minutes before your arrival and I now pray that the hunters come in time."

Hunters? Princess pondered. Eyes popped into her mind and his explanation of the Wonderland Hunters whose duties were to take down Underground Wonderland by many means if not all. There were other hunter-like groups out to take down Underground Wonderland but they were the only ones who also had the name 'Wonderland' within the title of their own name. She'd never seen any of them before except for the day she was saved from her own home to the city of Wonderland. Cheshire Cat Hunters quickly took chase on Truth and Liar but they managed to get away.

"What do you know of the Relic Maps, Milady Archer?" She heard Truth ask this, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Is that the reason for these books, hm?" He acted so different than how she knew him. He was so kind and childish and worry free at the castle. But now, he was acting so malicious. Liar wasn't any different. Compared to his carefree, childish, and often rude ways, he was just as nasty if not nastier. Both their eyes, once holding some type of emotion, seemed vanished of all feeling.

Milady Archer gave no response as she meekly stared down at her lap. She was afraid, that much was clear. Princess hadn't ever seen a person so frightened and in turn made her fear for her own life. She wasn't sure what the Cheshire Cats were going to do if she didn't speak. Or even if she did speak, for that matter. The already heavy atmosphere became heavier and heavier with each passing minute of silence.

Truth went to the window and leaned against the wall beside it, peering out to all the people under the raining sky. He watched them and said nothing, eyes darting from person to person, watching them closely for only a moment before moving to the next. Liar stayed beside Milady Archer, still leaning against the chair with closed eyes.

"You know what we'll do to get you to talk, milady," Liar said, voice still nonchalant. "We will do the same as before until none are left within your family." Her breath caught in her throat, memories flooding in her mind from what he said. Princess stayed silent, fear stopping her from making a sound. She would have stopped breathing all together if it wasn't what she had to do to stay alive.

Once again Milady Archer stared at Princess, eyes softening a bit with care. "You really are a poor girl." She didn't understand that. Poor girl? How was she a poor girl? Liar grabbed her hand and jerked it up over her head, telling to quite playing games and begin speaking.

"Wait," Princess said, voice shaking in fear. Liar stopped, staring the young girl. Truth did nothing. "I…I want to know what she means by 'poor girl.' So let her go and let her explain it to me." Her hands gripped onto the umbrella in her lap tightly, fear clear in her eyes as she stared at Liar. He stared back for a moment before complying with her orders and letting go of Milady Archer, stepping only a step away from her. She heard Miss Archer sigh a bit, staring at Princess in gratitude. "Please, speak," she told her.

Miss Archer bit her bottom lip and tried to smile at the young girl calmly. "Alice, you've no idea what these two have done," she said, voice still holding a hint of fear as she spoke low. "You can't trust them or anyone in Underground Wonderland. You must leave that place. Go to Hayren so that the Wonderland Hunters can protect you. You must–"

"Why am I to trust you and not them?" Princess interrupted. "I know that the Wonderland Hunters have it out for Underground Wonderlanders, such as myself, so it could be a trap. You could be leading me into a trap." If there was anything she had learned from Tick and Tock it was that people could lie, could set out traps for them. Traps to turn them in, traps to take advantage, and traps to even end their lives. It was a very unkindly truth when it came to being part of Underground Wonderland.

She shook her head. "I'm telling you the truth." Her voice became a bit more higher to hear. "You mean nothing to Underground Wonderland but the Wonderland Hunters are trying to save you. In their care you'll be safe and protected. They won't throw you away like the scum that holds these criminals together."

"Scum?" Princess felt insulted by that. "How can you call them– no, us –scum? You don't even know who we are!"

"But I do!" she protested. "You're just like the others. The girls who came before you. All the Alice before you. You can't depend on the Cheshire Cats to protect you. Not now, not ever. They'll be the death of you, Alice." Silence returned to the room as Princess stared at Milady Archer. She looked at Liar who merely stared back with empty eyes. Truth was busy with what was going outside to bother looking at them. For the first time with Liar and Truth around, she felt small and alone. She didn't say a word, eyes looking down to her lap and the umbrella her hands gripped so tightly in fear.

"Princess," Truth spoke, his voice sounding gentle towards the girl, "would you like to return home soon?" She found that a rather odd question to ask. It was off topic. Still, when he looked at her, she nodded. "Then we'll return home. We'll pack up and catch the next flight out of here." He walked over to Princess and held out his hand to her, waiting for her to take it before leaving down the stairs. Liar didn't follow.

It wasn't long before they were walking outside in the rain again with their umbrellas open. No words were spoken as they walked back to the motel. They didn't even exchange looks. She quietly packed, her mind jumping back and forth from what Milady Archer had told her to the little interrogation the Cheshire Cats put her through. All the way back to the motel she hadn't seen or even heard Liar. Several times she looked back, but he wasn't there. It worried her a bit, though it frightened her more to think what he may have stayed behind to do. Especially to the woman.

"Are you ready to go?" she heard Truth say, standing at her doorway. She turned and looked at him, emotion in his eyes again. She nodded in response, strolling her light blue, yellow polka dot covered suitcase towards him.

"Where's Liar?" she asked, unsure as to whether she actually wanted an answer or not. "What's going to happen to that woman?"

Truth let his lips form a friendly smile as they walked down the corridor. "Don't worry about that, Princess. Liar will return before we set off home and that woman will probably be taken to headquarters for further interrogation by the Cards."

She stared long and hard at him, wondering if he was lying. She couldn't tell and it bothered her. "Alright," she said in a low voice, eyes directing forward as they walked. She held onto Truth's hand as they walked. This was her first mission and it was frightening. She couldn't make heads or tails as to what had transformed the Cheshire Cats. Was that how they acted on all missions? Was that how they were before she came to Underground Wonderland? What about the past Alice girls the woman had told her? So many questions lurked in her mind. She didn't speak, however. She stayed quiet, fear lingering inside of her. She would wait.

Wait to have her questions answered.